


Tomorrow is Tomorrow

by Nephbit



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blackwall and Adaar are the main pair, Canon is for suckers except for the parts I like, F/F, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, I'd say I'm sorry but that would be lying, In which Cullen dies off screen and an OC takes his place, M/M, Mutual Pining, SO MANY OC's, idk I'm making this shit up as I go ok, may change rating later we'll see, most of the wardens probably won't make an appearance but they're all out there, some of the chapters are just journal entries others will be more traditional, teeth rotting amounts of fluff, this is mostly for me so buckle up and enjoy the ride
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-08-23 09:21:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20240512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nephbit/pseuds/Nephbit
Summary: He knew better and yet there was something about the half-qunari mage that made him want to draw close even when all common sense and every bit of self preservation he had left warned him not to. He was a fool, a damn fool but his goal was to do the most good and wasn't that what the Inquisition wanted to do?In which Blackwall is a Fool, Asaaranda Adaar is Tired and the Inquisition (and by extension Thedas) gets the Hero they Deserve.





	1. In Which Blackwall Broods in His Journal

[The journal is small with a worn cover made of rough, reddish brown leather. The pages are thick, low quality paper. An overlong leather tie attached to the cover can be wound around the outside to help keep it closed. This tie as well as the upper right corner of the journal has been chewed on by a kitten although the owner would swear this was untrue. The handwriting that fills its pages is blocky and large while still fitting as many letters on the page as the otherwise large hand allows. Many of the pages are stained with dirt, ink or worse. Despite this the writing is legible overall]

FROM THE JOURNAL OF THOMAS BLACKWALL

9:4<strike>0</strike>1 DR [the 0 is scratched out and replaced with a 1]

LOST TRACK OF DAYS AGAIN… STILL USING THE DAMN OLD YEAR, NOT THAT IT MATTERS. I’M THE ONLY ONE WHO’LL EVER READ THIS THING. I’M IN FERELDEN… I THINK. IF NOT YET THEN SOON. I DON’T REMEMBER WHERE THE LINE ON THE FROSTBACKS QUITE FALLS.

FOUND ANOTHER TINY VILLAGE ABANDONED. LOOKS TO HAVE BEEN HIT BY BANDITS. BASTARDS. FOLK WITH NOTHING STEALING FROM FOLK WITH LESS. MOST OF IT HAD BEEN BURNT AND THERE WAS NOTHING USEFUL LEFT IN THE UNBURNT PORTIONS. GAVE THE REMAINS I FOUND A DECENT BURNING. THE WOOD AROUND HERE IS WET FOR THE MOST PART BUT THERE’S A LOT OF IT.

I SHOULD BE FINISHED CROSSING THE FROSTBACKS BY TOMORROW… DAY AFTER IF I’M SLOW ABOUT IT. ITS FREEZING BALLS UP HERE SO I’M DOING MY BEST NOT TO TARRY. HAVEN’T WRITTEN MUCH BUT THEN AGAIN THERE HASN’T BEEN MUCH WORTH WRITING ABOUT EITHER.

9:41DR [there is a dark inkstain where a pen tip rested for some time before being used]

THE SUNRISE WAS BEAUTIFUL THIS MORNING. GLAD I TOOK THE TIME TO LOOK.

9:41DR

GLAD TO BE BACK ON LAND THAT IS FLAT(ISH) AGAIN EVEN IF IT *IS* MUDDY. DEFINITELY IN FERELDEN NOW. PEOPLE BACK HOME LIKE TO SAY THIS COUNTRY SMELLS LIKE MUD AND WET DOG. I’LL GRANT THE MUD BUT SURPRISINGLY I HAVEN’T FOUND ANY DOGS LET ALONE WET ONES.

GOING TO HEAD TO JADER’S OUTPOST. JADER’S NO AMARANTHINE BUT THERE’S A REAL BED TO LOOK FORWARD TO AND IT’S MUCH CLOSER. FEWER CHANCES OF RUNNING INTO SENIOR WARDENS IN JADER AS WELL WHICH IS AN ADDED SIDE BENEFIT. THOUGH AS LONG AS I’M DREAMING OF REAL BEDS I MAY AS WELL THROW IN A STEAK DINNER AS WELL…

DREAMED OF HOME AGAIN LAST NIGHT. BEEN A WHILE. I MISS THE FOUNTAINS IN THE SQUARE MOST. ORLAIS HAS FOUNTAINS TOO OF COURSE BUT THEY’RE NOT THE SAME. THERE’S TOO MUCH SNOBBERY AND FANCY CHEESES THAT SMELL FUNNY FOR STARTERS. YOU’D THINK THAT AFTER ALL THIS TIME THAT THE ACHE WOULD GO AWAY BUT IT NEVER REALLY DOES. I WAS A FOOL TO LEAVE BUT WHAT ELSE IS NEW?

9:41DR

PASSED A GROUP OF PILGRIMS WHO SAY THEY’RE HEADING TO THE TEMPLE OF SACRED ASHES. THEY SEEMED EXCITED ABOUT GETTING TO SEE IT AND THE DIVINE THERE AT THE SAME TIME. I KNEW THERE WERE PLANS FOR SOME SORT OF TALK UP THAT WAY BUT I DIDN’T KNOW THEY HAD BEEN ACTUALLY ORGANIZED. APPARENTLY SHE’S GOING TO TRY AND MEDIATE A TRUCE BETWEEN THAT MESS WITH THE MAGES AND TEMPLARS. WISH HER LUCK ON THAT ONE. THAT’S ONE MESS I’M GLAD I’M NOT TASKED WITH SORTING OUT.

PERSONALLY I’M GLAD I’M NOT GOING TO BE ANYWHERE NEAR THERE; NOT WITH SO MANY ANGRY FOLK ABOUT. ESPECIALLY ONES WITH THE MEANS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT ANGER. I’VE KNOWN TEMPLARS WHO WERE RIGHTEOUS PRICKS AND OTHERS WHO SEEMED DECENT ENOUGH FOLK. THING IS PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE EVERYWHERE AND WHEN YOU GET FOLK WHOSE JOB IT IS TO LOCK UP OTHER FOLK FOR THE CRIME OF BEING BORN WITH MAGIC… YOU’LL HAVE THEM THAT ABUSE THAT. DUNNO WHAT THE DIVINE’LL DO.

DAMN. SHOULD HAVE ASKED WHAT DAMNED DAY IT WAS.

9:41DR 

WHAT IS IT WITH THE BEARS HERE? ANGRY AS HELL AND KEEN TO LET YOU KNOW ABOUT IT MAKERS BALLS

9:41DR 1:26

JADER HAS A PROPER WARDEN’S OUTPOST NOW I’LL BE DAMNED. LAST I WAS HERE THERE WAS ONLY THE ONE ROOM THAT WAS COMMONS AND BUNK ALL IN ONE WITH AN OUTDOOR KITCHEN. NOW THERE’S A BUNK ROOM AND AN OFFICER BUNK ROOM IN ADDITION TO A COMMONS AND AN INDOOR KITCHEN. THERE’S EVEN A STABLE NOW. VERY NICE.

THERE’S NO ONE HERE OTHER THAN TWO SERVANTS WHO KEEP THINGS READY AND TIDY. I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT SOMEONE WOULD HAVE BEEN LEFT BEHIND… THE FOLKS HERE ARE ON EDGE. THEY TRIED NOT TO LET ME SEE BUT THEY SEEMED RELIEVED TO SEE ME COME IN AND DON’T LIKE THAT I’M ONLY HERE FOR A FEW NIGHTS. THE WARDENS WHO WERE STATIONED HERE GOT WRITTEN ORDERS FROM ORLAIS AND CLEARED OUT MONTHS AGO BUT DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING SPECIFIC. STRANGE. I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THE FERELDEN WARDENS STILL ANSWERED TO WARDEN COMMANDER BROSCA…. CAPTAIN SURANA IF NOTHING ELSE.... WHATEVER… NOT MY BUSINESS.

WILL RESUPPLY AND GET MORE COIN BEFORE HEADING TO THE STORM COAST. IT’S THE ANNIVERSARY NEXT MONTH. CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S BEEN SIX YEARS. AND WHO KNOWS, PERHAPS I’LL DO SOME GOOD WHILE I’M THERE.


	2. In Which There Is Something Worse Than Rain

9:41DR 1:30

BALLS.

9:41DR 2:1

WHY DID I THINK GOING TO THE STORM COAST WAS A GOOD IDEA AT THIS TIME OF YEAR? I MEAN I KNOW WHY BUT MAKERS BALLS IT’S BEEN RAINING THIS WHOLE WEEK WITH NO END IN SIGHT. HOW DO FOLKS HERE MANAGE?

Blackwall paused and scowled down at the journal in his hands. Normally writing his thoughts onto paper was a way to settle them but as of late all it was doing was underscore how little he actually had to say. Case and point: yesterday’s entry. He’d sat there for almost twenty minutes before giving it up. With an annoyed sigh he tucked it back into the oilskin cloak’s inner pocket and looked out over the pine shaded ridge he’d chosen as a resting spot.

Rain came down in sheets with the steady inevitability of a waterfall. At least there was no thunder or lightning today… small comfort that it was. He was getting far enough down to where most lighting strikes would hit the tallest trees or one of the odd Dwarven statues who gazed sternly down on the humans that occupied the surface lands. Funny… he’d never really considered them before. From what he knew of dwarves (which he readily admitted wasn’t _ a lot _) they stayed underground for the most part didn’t they? The ones up top were forbidden from coming back home because they weren’t real dwarves anymore or something. So why did they build the statues? 

When the rumble began, it was just at the edge of hearing; but almost before he became aware of the sound it grew louder. A wave of force and sound barreled overhead, around, and past him, shaking the very earth beneath him as it went. For a brief instant he felt the sound deep in his bones, sharp enough to make his teeth ache before it was gone.

“What the--” the words died on his lips as he faced the direction the wave had come from. In the distance, over the just visible Frostback Mountains, a green vortex had appeared, connected to a line of the same glowing light rising from somewhere below. As he watched in horror, more lines appeared, as from a cracked pane of glass that spread their tendrils outward across the sky.

[9:41 2:1 cont.]

I...THINK THE WORLD MAY BE ENDING… THERE WAS THIS SOUND I CAN’T EVEN BEGIN TO DESCRIBE AND THEN THIS GASH IN THE SKY. GREEN LIGHT’S COMING OUT OF IT AND I’D SWEAR IT’S GETTING BIGGER ALL THE T---[the word ends in a smear of ink]

Blackwall’s attention shifted as another wave washed over him from behind causing his ears to pop painfully. A thin crack of the same green glowy light had appeared over a cluster of smaller steadings. Streaks of green light meteored from the tear, down onto the fields below. Someone else would have to deal with the big one he reckoned grimly, grabbing his pack from where it rested on the rock next to him. 

9:41 2:2 [the date appears squeezed in above the next entry which appears to have been written in a hurry. The handwriting is therefore much sloppier than usual and almost illegible as a result.]

THERE ARE BLIGHT FUCKING DEMONS COMING OUT OF THAT TEAR ABOVE THE VILLAGE I DON’T KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON BUT I’LL BE DAMNED IF I DO NOTHING IF I DIE AT LEAST I DID IT FIGHTING

9:41 2:4

FINALLY HAVE A CHANCE TO STOP AND CATCH MY BREATH. I’D STEM THE TIDE OF THRICE DAMNED DEMONS FROM ONE OF THOSE TEARS BUT MORE WOULD ALWAYS FOLLOW. ENDED UP HAVING TO RETREAT WHICH MEANT EVACUATING THE VILLAGE THE CURSED THING SHOWED UP OVER. AT LEAST THE THING WAS OVER THEIR FIELDS NOT THE SQUARE OR MORE WOULD BE DEAD THEN ARE AS THINGS STAND. AS IT HAPPENS MOST OF THE FIELD HANDS WERE DEAD BEFORE I COULD GET THERE. FOUR MEN, A KID NINE OR THERE-ABOUTS AND AND OLD WOMAN. ALL THE SHEEP ARE GONE. DEMONS TORE ANYTHING AND ANYONE THEY COULD TO PIECES POOR BASTARDS. TOO RISKY TO TRY TO GATHER BODIES FOR BURNING, NOT THAT THERE’S ENOUGH LEFT FOR THAT EVEN IF THE WEATHER LET UP AND THE DEMONS FUCKED OFF. LUCKILY THEY DON’T STRAY FAR FROM THE LIGHT OF THAT TEAR. NOT SURE WHY BUT I’M CERTAINLY NOT COMPLAINING ABOUT IT. THE VILLAGERS WERE CONVINCED A LOCAL MALIFICARUM WAS TO BLAME ‘TIL I POINTED OUT THE BIGGER ONE OVER THE MOUNTAINS. I WON’T DISAGREE ITS MAGIC BUT THERE’S NO WAY THAT THING IS THE RESULT OF ONE PERSON. I DON’T CARE WHO YOU ARE.

THESE PEOPLE FALL UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE RIVERLANDS* SO I’M STAYING WITH THEM UNTIL AT LEAST HENDYR**, FARTHER IF THEY NEED IT. HOPEFULLY THE TERYN CAN SEND TO THE FERELDEN CIRCLE FOR HELP***. OR THE KING. THE HOLE IN THE SKY CONTINUES TO GROW. IT’S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME AT THIS POINT UNTIL THE DAMN THING SWALLOWS THE WHOLE SKY. DARKSPAWN I GET. THEM AND ARCHDEMONS ARE EVIL BUT THEY CAN BE FOUGHT. HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO STAB A HOLE IN THE SKY? PROBABLY ONLY MAKE IT WORSE EVEN IF YOU COULD GET UP THERE.

9:41 2:5

THE SKY...GOT BETTER? THAT IS A TERRIBLE WAY TO PUT THAT BUT I’M POLE-AXED IF I CAN THINK OF A BETTER WAY. THERE IS STILL A BIG HOLE WITH WEIRD GREEN LIGHT BUT IT GOT A LOT SMALLER AND HASN’T GROWN FOR HOURS. ITS STAYING OVER THE FROSTBACKS FOR NOW. I DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED BUT I’M RELIEVED IT DID.

“What are you writing ser?”

The young voice made Blackwall look up from where he was hunched against a wagon wheel. A curious trio of kids looked down on him. The shortest reached his current eye level and he reckoned the gangly youth would reach about his shoulder were he standing. He made no move to rise however, not wanting to loom over them in turn. “Thinking.” he said, marking his place with a thumb and hoping the ink wouldn’t smear too badly.

The child who was neither short nor tall wrinkled their face in disbelief, “You have to write stuff down to think about it?” The child was so filthy it was hard to say if they were a lad or lass. That they were still scrawny, young enough to wear only a long shirt, and had shoulder length hair didn’t help. He chuckled, tugging absently at his beard, “Well no… I just like doing it.” There was probably no point in a deeper explanation; the kid didn’t look that interested anyway. The tallest one, an elfin girl, crossed her arms, “Are you really a Grey Warden?” she asked dubiously.

“What makes you think I’m not one?” Blackwall kept his voice light and teasing. “You don’t have a griffon obviously. How can you fight dragons if you can’t fly?” He couldn’t help it, he began to laugh, the firm, reasoned explanation catching him off guard. She scowled down at him which only made him laugh harder. “He’s got the armor!” The littlest one said pointing at his breastplate. His voice was an adorable squeak and the defense from an unexpected quarter helped get his own laughter under control.

“I do have the armor,” he agreed, “and as for my griffon, I’m still on the waiting list. They only give those to the greatest heroes.” The girl frowned, considering. “The king and queen don’t even have one and they stopped the last Blight” Blackwall continued seriously. “Garahel had one.” she laid this last fact down but he could tell she was mostly won over, “Well, Garahel was a real hero wasn’t he? Queen Lashiel and King Alistair are too, but they had to make do without a griffon. They did have a mabari though, as I understand.” As he recalled the mabari in question had actually bonded with one of the dwarves… Commander Brosca if he remembered right but given he’d never met any of them, it hardly mattered.

A harried looking man came around the side of the cart, “Stop bothering the man you lot.” he ordered and before Blackwall could say anything the kids scattered without a backward glance. “Soup’s on if you’re hungry. Don’t mind them-- they get into everything but they’re alright.” The man grabbed a box of supplies from the wagon and hurried away. Blackwall hauled himself to his feet with a grunt. Food sounded good, especially if he was going to stand middle-watch again. There had to be a solution to the torn sky. The thing had gotten better somehow, presumably someone had done that? It almost made him wonder if the other one had gotten smaller or, better yet, sealed entirely. He couldn't risk the caravan of refugees on a hunch though. Once they made Hendyr he was turning back he decided. 

He might be a lone Warden, but that was going to be enough.

It had to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Riverlands: I made this region up but its the delta region/islands east of Jader & west of Westhill. The city the Teryn lives in is called Ayesleigh. Currently ruled by Teryn Ansel Rivers and Teryna Leliani Rivers.
> 
> **Hendyr is likewise a town I made up. It's along one of the rivers in the region.
> 
> ***Alistair/Tabris gave the Fereldan Circle complete autonomy after the Blight (think more Hogwarts and less Federal Prison). Given it's proximity to the Riverlands, Teryn Rivers has accepted them as part of his people whom he protects and expects them to keep their shit together and generally obey laws like everyone else in return. This situation has obviously caused quite a bit of tension between Ferelden and the Sunburst Throne as well as Ferelden and Orlais especially as most apostates who ""transfer without permission"" to this Circle from other Circles are allowed to stay.

**Author's Note:**

> This entire work is dedicated to the Literal Love Of My Life so thanks for joining me (us) in our shenanigans !


End file.
